City Leaders Keeping Close Eye on Hurricane Earl

As state emergency management officials brace for Hurricane Earl to approach our area later this week, city officials are making their own plans in the event the storm impacts Newport.

According to Cpt. Peter Kirwin of the Newport Fire Department, both police and fire officials have been participating in the RI Emergency Management Agency's conference calls since Saturday. Another is planned for noon today, but Kirwin said they've been told Wednesday will be the real decision day for everyone, as the storm passes the Carolina coast.

"This is a historically dangerous path for the Northeast, that's why they're watching this so carefully," Kirwin said. "When other storms come up in this general area, they've done a lot of damage to the Northeast or the Carolinas, so we're watching it extremely closely."

The fire department started implementing its preparation list on Monday, making sure all equipment is up and running and that the department has enough supplies in case they can't get to stores during the storm. Kirwin said the fire department is also doing maintenance on its generators to make sure they're ready to go.

Over at the police department, Sgt. John Barker said they're planning to pre-position some of their EMS trailers on Wellington Avenue, Ocean Drive and Memorial Boulevard—areas all susceptible to storm surge. Police are also making sure they have enough barricades accessible to officers in the event of flooding.

While RIEMA has advised that the probability of a direct hit is low at this time, Barker said these advance preparations are particularly important due to the narrow window of time between now and Earl's anticipated arrival.

"We try to get much of this done ahead of the curve," he said.

Newport officials as a whole work together as an EMA team, with all city department heads receiving updates on the storm three or four times a day and making sure they have enough equipment and manpower ready as Earl nears.

Kirwin said the fire chief, as the city's emergency management director, has been in contact with all department directors, but that the group has not had a collective meeting just yet.

"We're in a waiting game right now until Wednesday to see what the impact is going to be," he said. "We haven't had a hurricane in this area in a couple of decades, so we're making all the plans that we can."

According to Kirwin, Earl is currently predicted to be a Category 2 storm when it passes our area, leading to heavy rain, wind and high surf. Right now, Earl is expected to hit 110 to 150 miles from Nantucket, but Kirwin said the point of error is about 200 miles in either direction, meaning it could easily sway in our direction and be a direct hit.

Following up shortly after is Hurricane Fiona, which Kirwin said is currently 100 miles away from Earl and is following the same predicted path.

"That's going to be early next week," he said. "Even as we get past this one, they're talking about Fiona being up in our area."

City officials are encouraging all residents to get their emergency kits ready and monitor the updates. Visit RIEMA's website for complete details on how to get hurricane ready.

"It's the timing of the month," Kirwin said. "It's a holiday weekend, we'll have a lot more tourists in town, there's a lot more boating activities right now. Everybody's panicking about pulling their boat out or keeping it in. The university students are moving in. Everybody's in a waiting game right now, but we're definitely on top of it."